Inside Hoops – Page 1194 – NBA Blog

LeBron, Heat playing in Cleveland tonight

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on LeBron James heading home for to Akron for Thanksgiving, but with a stop in Cleveland to play the Cavs first:

Two days before Thanksgiving, LeBron James sat in his old high school gymnasium in Akron, Ohio, and reminisced. Off to the side, while St. Vincent-St. Mary practiced, James’ sons shot hoops on the same rims that helped turn their father into the best basketball player on the planet.

These Heat road trips to his hometown for games against his old team have been memorable for James ever since he signed with the Heat, and this latest visit to Northeast Ohio will be another emotional exercise in balancing his appreciation for the place that made him and his love for what now defines him.

On Wednesday, James’ Heat plays the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena and before the game a grassroots movement called “Come Home LeBron” will hold a rally outside the arena. After the game, the Heat is spending the night in the area instead of immediately boarding a plane to Toronto. On Thursday, James is hosting a Thanksgiving feast for the Heat at his home in Akron.

“I am happy that I’m able to do something for the team for Thanksgiving,” James said.

In describing James’ house, Chris Bosh mused that if the Heat’s players had to be away from their families, “it might as well be the biggest house in the world.” Dwyane Wade joked that he would make sure to wear “the right socks” because the house is too fancy for shoes.

Nets avoid fourth-quarter meltdown, finally end five-game skid

The Brooklyn Nets are struggling, and injuries are making things even worse. Any win lately is a big one. Here’s the New York Daily News on results from Tuesday:

They nearly blew it, but the Nets will take a win any way they can get one.

Despite an awful start to the season in which they’ve been without four key players for long stretches, have crumbled in third quarters and been left searching for answers, they entered their first division game of the season Tuesday night somehow only three games behind their opponent, the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.

Thanks to an effort in which they were better defensively in transition, won the rebounding battle and actually looked competent in the third quarter, the Nets pulled to within two games of first place with a 102-100 win at the Air Canada Centre, averting disaster by holding off a late Raptors run to snap a five-game skid and win for the second time in 10 games.

“Those guys in that locker room found that they had enough,” coach Jason Kidd said after his team nearly blew all of a 15-point lead in the final 5:22. “You’ve got a bunch of guys in there with pride and they knew what they had to do tonight against the division-leading Raptors and got a big win on the road.” …

Andray Blatche carried the offensive load for Brooklyn early, scoring 15 first-half points on 7-for-10 shooting in a variety of ways: easy points in the paint, difficult drives to the hoop and 20-foot jumpers. He finished with a team-high 24 points.

DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points for Toronto (6-8) and Kyle Lowry had 24 points and six assists.

Jermaine O`Neal steps up for Warriors

Here’s the Bay Area News Group via the San Jose Mercury News on veteran big man Jermaine O’Neal stepping up for the Golden State Warriors Tuesday:

There is Denzel Washington’s speech in “Remember the Titans” and Gene Hackman’s talk to his squad in “Hoosiers.”

And then there’s the postgame oration Jermaine O’Neal gave Tuesday after his improbable performance to lift the Warriors to a much-needed 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

“I keep telling these guys that trials and tribulations will build character for a true championship team,” O’Neal said. “It may not look good all the time, but we keep fighting, we keep fighting. It doesn’t matter who’s on the court in a Warriors uniform, we always feel like we have enough. Hopefully these lessons we’re learning early, all the injuries … is teaching us a lesson. I truly believe at the end of the year, we’re going to be rewarded for these lessons that we’ve learned.”

Leave it to the 35-year-old, 18th-year veteran to lift the Warriors when they needed it most. The Warriors were without Andrew Bogut, suspended for a game for his role in the altercation with Portland on Saturday. Swingman Andre Iguodala (strained left hamstring) didn’t make the trip. But O’Neal, a former All-Star turned backup center, pulled off a timely throwback performance.

He finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in his first game back after missing the previous four. He was out with a bruised right knee and strained right groin. O’Neal revealed Tuesday that he also had a sore wrist and a viral infection that left him barely able to speak Sunday.

Anderson Varejao can see LeBron James playing for the Cavs again

The LeBron James “Decision” TV special is old news, but here’s the Akron Beacon Journal blog with good stuff from Anderson Varejao:

Anderson Varejao, the last remaining player with ties to LeBron James, said Tuesday he disagreed with the way James left but believes he could return to play for this organization again.

“It could happen,” Varejao said. “Bron is from Akron. Akron is not too far from here. Eventually in his career, he probably wants to play at home.”

And then unprovoked, the normally quiet Varejao said he didn’t like the way James left the Cavs via the one-hour television special.

“Going back to that, I think the way he left was wrong,” Varejao said. “But regardless … He helped me a lot, helped my game and helped me as a person. I have nothing against him. It could happen.”

Warriors center Ognjen Kuzmic out at least six weeks after hand surgery

Golden State Warriors center Ognjen Kuzmic underwent successful surgery yesterday on his right hand, the team announced. The procedure, which was performed by Dr. William Maloney and Dr. Amy Ladd at the Stanford Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Clinic, was necessary to repair the fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand. Kuzmic suffered the injury when he hit his hand on the backboard during the first quarter of the team’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 20. He is expected to be out for a minimum of six weeks.

Kuzmic, 23, has appeared in 10 games this season, averaging 4.1 minutes per contest.

Carmelo Anthony says Knicks have to get back to having fun

The New York Knicks are struggling, and forward Carmelo Anthony isn’t getting much help from teammates. Here’s New York Newsday with more on the situation:

If the Knicks don’t go deep in the playoffs or make major changes to upgrade the roster, there’s no guarantee that Anthony will re-sign just because they can offer him five years and roughly $129 million, about $34 million more than any other team.

Anthony says he continues to remain positive because he has to for his team, but he also had some revealing comments about the Knicks’ 3-9 start.

“I think it’s time for us to kind of get that monkey off our back,” he said. “It’s starting to turn into a gorilla. I can’t handle that. It’s starting to get tough.

“When you’re losing, it’s not fun. Are we having fun on the basketball court? No. The game is not fun right now. When you start pressing, pressing, pressing, it makes everything that much worse. So no, we’re not having fun playing basketball right now. We got to get back to that.”

Timberwolves trade Derrick Williams to Kings for Luc Mbah a Moute

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has acquired forward Luc Mbah a Moute (BAH-ah MOO-tay) from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forward Derrick Williams.

“We are excited to acquire a solid veteran player in Luc Mbah a Moute,” said Flip Saunders, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. “Luc is known as one of the premier defensive players in the league with an ability to guard multiple positions. He adds a lot of energy, grit and a high basketball IQ to our team. We thank Derrick for his contributions to our organization and wish him well in Sacramento.”

“We’re excited to acquire a player with Derrick’s skillset,” said Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. “He will add size, length and serve as a scoring threat in our frontcourt. We also want to thank Luc for his contributions during the short time he was a King. We wish him the best.”

Mbah a Moute, a 6-8 forward, has averaged 6.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over parts of six seasons with Milwaukee and most recently Sacramento. After the Bucks matched an offer sheet from the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 13, 2011, Mbah a Moute was traded by Milwaukee to the Kings on July 12, 2013 in exchange for two second-round picks. Today’s trade reunites Mbah a Moute with Kevin Love, as the pair led UCLA to a Final Four run in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Williams averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over 2+ seasons with the Wolves. The 6-8 forward is averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game this season.

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Wizards guard Bradley Beal out at least two weeks with leg injury

The Washington Wizards announced today that guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a stress injury to his proximal right fibula. He will miss the next two weeks and then be re-evaluated. The injury was diagnosed by team doctors following an MRI exam on Monday after Beal experienced soreness in his right leg.

Beal has appeared in all 13 games for the Wizards this season, averaging 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 40.2 minutes. He missed the final eight games of last season due to a stress injury to his distal right fibula.

Jazz center Enes Kanter day-to-day with sprained right ankle

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter, who was injured during the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s game at Oklahoma City:

Kanter was examined by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test on his right ankle Monday in Salt Lake City. The MRI findings confirmed Kanter has an inversion sprain of his right ankle.

Kanter will not play in tonight’s game vs. Chicago and is considered day-to-day. He will be a game-time decision for Friday’s game vs. Phoenix.

Kanter (6-11, 247, Kentucky) has played in all 15 games (14 starts) for the Jazz in 2013-14, ranking second on the team in both scoring (13.8 points) and rebounding (7.0 rebounds) in 31.9 minutes per game. He has scored in double figures in 11 of his 15 games this season, reaching 20-plus points four times, and also has three double-digit rebounding efforts. The 21-year-old native of Turkey was originally selected by the Jazz in the first round (third overall selection) of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Andrew Bogut, Mo Williams suspended one game each for fight

Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut and Portland Trail Blazers guard Mo Williams have each been suspended one game without pay for fighting after Bogut initiated an incident by elbowing Trail Blazers center Joel Freeland in the jaw.

In addition, for escalating the incident, Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been fined $45,000, and Portland guard Wesley Matthews and Golden State forward Draymond Green have been fined $20,000 each.

The incident occurred with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter of the Trail Blazers’ 113-101 win over the Warriors on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Oracle Arena.

The penalties were announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

Williams will serve his suspension tonight when the Trail Blazers host the New York Knicks. Bogut will serve his suspension on Tuesday, Nov. 26, when the Warriors visit the New Orleans Pelicans.

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